A Spy at the Highland Court

by Barclay, Celeste

  “I never would have guessed that your horse would be nearly as big as mine,” Ric grinned.

  “Bridei and I have been together since he was a colt. I had no idea he would grow to be so large, but he is a gentle giant. Unless provoked. Is your horse polite?” Isa returned Ric’s smile.

  “Rarely,” Ric snorted. “Bridei?”

  “He was a Pictish king not long after the Christian conversion.”

  Ric nodded and thought to himself that he should have known it would be a Pict name. But he grew serious as he finished checking the girth and stirrups. “Isa, next time, please wait for me to check your saddle and horse before you mount.”

  “Why? I’ve been riding since I was five. I know how to saddle my own horse, and I know what to look for when someone else has saddled one for me.”

  “Because you’re now the wife of a border lord who lives in Scotland but sounds English. I didn’t see you check anything on the saddle.”

  Isa felt like reminding Ric that she had also been the daughter of a border laird her entire life, but instead she nodded.

  “If you wish.” She reached down and patted the hand Ric did not realize rested on her calf. “Thank you for caring,” she finished in a whisper.

  “Careful or I will lift you off that beast and kiss you squarely in front of everyone.”

  “We do seem to have a habit of that.”

  “Isa,” he warned, but his smile softened his tone.

  Ric mounted and the other warriors followed suit. While Isa spoke with her friends, Ric had given his captain of the guard the order that Isa was to ride in the center, surrounded by warriors, and if there was an attack, the men’s purpose was to protect her rather than pursue. They clattered out of the gate and through the city of Stirling until they left the city gates. As the road widened, the men took their formation, and the riders separated Isa from Ric, who rode in the lead. She was about to call out to him, but his rigid body and hand on his sword hilt made her bite her tongue.

  They rode until the sun was well overhead, and Isa was hot and uncomfortable. She realized she should have heeded Ric’s warning the night before, but she did not regret the time spent with her husband. However, now, she found it was impossible to find a position that did not anger her sore body. Ric had looked back at her several times, and she had smiled before he turned back to watch the road. He had not invited her to move forward nor fallen back to ride with her. She felt cut off and alone, even though she knew Ric had given the order to protect her. She refused to complain and easily kept up with the other riders, even if she wanted to cry out in pain whenever Bridei’s gait jarred her, which was often on the rutted road. She gritted her teeth and breathed through her nose.

  At midday, they stopped to let the horses rest and for everyone to stretch their legs. Isa dismounted before Ric could help her, but he was there to catch her when her legs did not want to bear her weight.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “Are you well?” Isa could hear the concern in Ric’s voice. He turned her to face him and noticed the teeth marks in her lip. He brushed his thumb over it but pulled away when she gasped. “Isa, what’s the matter?”

  “Nothing.”

  Ric shook his head, then his eyes opened wide. “Are you too sore to ride?” he murmured.

  “No.”

  “Isa, you don’t have to tell me what you think I want to hear. Tell me the truth.”

  “I am. I’m well enough to ride.”

  “And if you continue, will you be able to walk by this evening? Will you be able to ride tomorrow?”

  “You’re whittling.”

  “I’m concerned for my wife.” Ric knew what the problem was, and he was angry with himself while growing frustrated with Isa.

  Isa stifled her groan and stretched to kiss Ric’s jaw, which she could see ticking. He caught her around the waist and gave her a punishing and passionate kiss. She returned it with equal measure until they both knew Ric’s men would be watching soon. They pulled apart, and Ric kissed her nose.

  “You’re riding with me.”

  Ric spun on his heel and yelled orders for one of the men to tie Bridei to his saddle after the man took the horse to drink. Isa was left staring at her husband’s back as she tried to comprehend his highhandedness. She knew he was trying to look after her, but she did not appreciate being given an order, then abandoned. She looked around and noticed a few of the men watched them, but most were busy with their own steeds. Isa spotted a tree with a broad trunk and bushes surrounding it and decided she would make use of the privacy.

  Ric looked back to see if Isa was following him, but she was not standing where he had just seen her. He scanned the group, but she was nowhere to be seen. His heart raced as his fear alternated between thinking someone had nabbed her and that she had run off. He was about to bellow orders to search for her when she emerged from the trees brushing out her skirts. His rational mind told him she had sought out privacy, but his emotions were on high alert, making him fear the worst. He marched over to Isa and stood before her. Her smile faded when she saw his scowl.

  “Don’t wander off like that.”

  Isa’s chin drew back, and the look of indignation made Ric realize he had gone too far.

  “I didn’t wander off. We may be married, but I don’t need your company while I relieve myself. I’ve been able to do that on my own for quite some time.”

  Isa pushed past him and made her way to the riverbank, but paused before bending down.

  “Would you like to be my nursemaid and make sure I don’t fall in? Do you trust me to rinse my hands and face, or do you think I can’t do that alone either?”

  Isa knew she was being testy, and while she tried to keep her voice down, she knew she was drawing stares. She was in pain and irritated that Ric was embarrassing her in front of men she would have to travel and live with for the next several days. Ric marched over to her and put his hands on his hips.

  “Isabella.”

  “Stop that. I’m not a child in leading strings. I detest when you use my full name because it’s only ever when I’ve annoyed you, Dedric.” Isa crossed her arms and tapped her toe before arching an eyebrow.

  Ric dropped his arms, unable to deny she was right. Except there had been one time when he had used her name, and he was most certainly not frustrated with her. He pulled her against him and was thankful that the hauberk and surcoat hid his arousal.

  “I can think of twice that I used your full name, and I was anything but annoyed. Do you not remember the first time we made love?”

  Isa’s breath caught as she caught a whiff of Ric’s fresh scent. They had used the pitcher of water in their chamber left there earlier in the day to complete their morning ablutions. Ric’s soap had smelled of pine and sandalwood. She could smell it now as he filled her senses and her mind jumped back to the night before.

  “Of course, I do. It was only hours ago.” Her voice was a breathless whisper.

  “Then you’ll recall that I used it to be sure you understood how serious I was.”

  “But it felt very different from when you use it to scold me.”

  Ric paused as he looked at the hurt in his wife’s emerald eyes. While they were apart, he had often thought of how they matched the grass after a heavy rainstorm.

  “I worry about you, whether it’s within that viperous court or out here where we are exposed. I would protect you at all costs, and sometimes that means I need to warn you.”

  “I’m not a child, Dedric. I can make my own decisions, and I haven’t done anything to endanger myself at court or here. I stepped around the tree closest to the twenty-odd men you have with us. If anything, I was in danger of one of them spying me with my skirts lifted rather than someone making off with me. And I navigated court life for eight years before I met you. I’m not a novice.”

  Ric had not known Isa lived at court for so long. He had to admit there was much about his bride that he still did not know. He was allow
ing his fear and overprotectiveness get the better of him, and it was about to drive a wedge between them.

  “Isa, you know my mother died living near the border because of who she married. I fear the same might happen to you.”

  Isa watched the chords in Ric’s neck strain as he swallowed. She had not thought about his family, and so it never crossed her mind that bringing her with him might be upsetting.

  “Should I have stayed at court where I wouldn’t be a distraction?” she asked softly. “I don’t want to be in your way.”

  “No. Absolutely not. I was not leaving without you. You’re not in the way, and you’re not a distraction. I never want you to feel that way. You mean a great deal to me, and I worry about you.”

  Isa wrapped her arms around Ric’s waist and leaned her ear against his chest.

  “I don’t like this armor,” she muttered.

  “Why?”

  “Because I can’t hear your heart. I realized last night that I find it soothing,” she admitted.

  Ric used his finger to lift her chin and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips.

  “It shall be sweet torture, but will you ride with me, please?”

  Isa nodded and tightened her hold on him.

  “I should have asked instead of ordered, shouldn’t I have?

  Isa nodded once again.

  “Ric, I can still ride. You’re right that I’m sore, but I’d much rather be in your arms than alone again.”

  “Alone? Men have surrounded you the entire morning.”

  “You’re right.” She let go of Ric and was ready to walk to his horse, but he held onto her waist.

  “You meant because I rode ahead and left you with men you’ve never met. Isa, I’m sorry. Once again, my need to protect you made me insensitive.”

  “I know you mean well. It just reminded me of when my father sent me to court for the first time. My father had barely mended the rift with the king and didn’t dare show his face. I was sent with a contingent of guards and a maid. No one spoke to me for nearly the entire journey. Only the maid did, and that was more often to grumble about the ride than to help me. If I hadn’t been a lass, I wouldn’t have had her as a chaperone.”

  “No one from your family presented you at court? You were just delivered to the queen?” Ric was aghast.

  “Who was going to present me? I told you my father was not in Robert’s good graces at the time, so he could not go himself and he refused to send my mother to travel back and forth. I wore leggings and a long tunic, so I looked more like a lad. My mother would have stood out. It was safer for everyone the way it was.”

  Ric could not believe what he was hearing. Once more, he realized he had much to learn about Isa, but his anger was growing as he heard more about the man he had pledged fealty to through his marriage.

  “I don’t feel the same way as your father. Perhaps it is because you’re a beautiful woman any man would covet. If we’re attacked, you will be the first person they will try to reach. Whether to keep you or to ransom you. I wish there was another way to reach our keep, but there isn’t.”

  “I know. I do appreciate your concern; I just don’t care for being ordered about like a wean.”

  “Wean?”

  “A young child. You shall have to learn some more phrases if you’re to understand our people.”

  Our people. Ric had not thought of the men, women, and children who would be at the keep as his people, but he supposed he was part of the Dunbar clan now, and as the lord, they were his people.

  Isa took Ric’s hand and led him to his horse.

  “Isa, meet MacLellan. MacLellan, this is my bonny bride. You shall treat her well while she rides with me.”

  Isa covered her mouth to hide her giggle as she listened to her mountain of a husband coo at his horse.

  “You named him after your mother’s people? That must not have gone over well with the English.”

  “I rarely needed to use his name in public, so few people knew. When I was given him, he was still a colt, too. I was to become a squire and angry about being sent away from court to yet another place where I knew no one. I suppose I was being rebellious, but in the end, I liked feeling like I had at least some connection to my family, even if it was only my horse’s name.”

  Isa ran her hand along the horse’s neck and smiled when it turned its giant head to see her. The destrier was pure black and a striking contrast to her entirely chestnut gelding. MacLellan had a wider girth than Bridei, but they stood the same height. Isa pulled herself up but found herself lifted into midair by two strong hands that gently lowered her to sit sideways. Ric mounted behind her and helped her arrange her skirts. She sat bracketed by Ric’s powerful thighs, and when he wrapped an arm around her middle, she gladly sank into the wall of muscle that seemed to cocoon her.

  “I feel safer here than I did with all your men around me,” she whispered.

  Ric looked down and realized that despite her height, her willowy body made her appear petite compared to him. His heart pinched as he felt her huddle against him, trusting him to protect her, while her eyes were closed and she attempted to stifle a yawn.

  “Rest, little one. We still have several hours of travel. I will hold you while you sleep.”

  “I’d like that,” she managed around another yawn.

  Ric spurred his horse forward and gave an order for the men to surround him now as he held his precious cargo. Isa was already asleep, having relaxed once his arm went around her. He wondered if she might be developing feelings for him just as he was sure he was falling in love with her. He corrected himself. He was fairly certain he was already in love with her.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Isa dozed for much of the afternoon, but when they stopped again to water the horses, she insisted she was well enough to ride on her own. She took a few faltering steps on her own before Ric swept her into his arms and carried her to some bushes where he kept watch while she made use of them. Then he carried her to the bank of the small loch and set her down before making use of the bush himself. She felt better after splashing water on her face, but she longed to be able to pull her skirts up and wade into the cold water. She was sure it would soothe her inflamed flesh. When Ric returned to her side, she gazed past his shoulder to Bridei, who stood nodding his head at the horse standing next to him, almost as though they were having a conversation, then she looked back at Ric.

  “I think I’d rather ride with you again,” she confessed.

  “Are you still that uncomfortable?”

  “I am still sore, but I’m—” She trailed off as she felt the heat rising in her cheeks. She did not want Ric to think her too meek to handle the trip, but she was embarrassed to admit that she was enjoying the feel of being held by Ric.

  “I’d gladly have you ride with me any time you’d like. I enjoy the feel of you, too.” Ric winked as he once again swept her into his arms.

  This time, Isa stayed awake for the rest of the day, and she and Ric chatted about their different impressions of arriving at court as a child of seven as opposed to a young woman of fourteen. They found that many of their experiences had been similar despite the difference in ages. Isa discovered that Ric’s arrival as a squire-in-training was close to her own as a lady-in-waiting. It just had not consisted of the physical trials Ric was put through, unless she counted the hours spent kneeling in prayer alongside the pious queen. They shared their happier memories of growing up in royal service.

  By the time they stopped for the night, Isa felt more connected to Ric than she ever had outside of the chambers they shared the day before, and Ric enjoyed finding someone who understood how he felt for much of his life. Isa did her part to help prepare the evening meal by skinning more than one rabbit. It shocked Ric that she knew how, but when asked, she only shrugged and said she had not spent her entire life at court. Isa and Ric sat together to eat, listening to the men chatter rather than talking much. As the evening wore on, Isa found herself getting slee
py again. She was unsure of whether she should dare, but she leaned against Ric’s shoulder. He immediately wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.

  “Don’t fall asleep yet, lass.”

  Isa smiled at Ric’s attempt to sound a bit more Scottish. She nodded and enjoyed the heat Ric generated. The air was still cold, and there was frost on the ground most mornings. She had not said anything to Ric, but she dreaded sleeping outdoors in this time of limbo between the dead of winter and the early days of spring.

  Isa and Ric sat together as the first watch posted and the men began to settle in for the night. Ric stood and pulled something from his saddlebag before he took her hand. He led her away from the camp and toward the bank of the loch where they had stopped for the night. He murmured something to the guard they passed, but Isa could not hear. The man nodded and disappeared, but he was back only moments later, now standing with his back to the loch and them. Ric stooped near the water and dipped what Isa noticed was a drying linen into the cold water.

  “The men won’t look. I thought you might appreciate being able to use the cold compress.”

  Isa’s cheeks burned as she looked at the back of the man standing nearest them before nodding. She turned her own back to Ric before lifting her skirts and placing the wet linen between her legs. The cold immediately soothed her flesh, and she wanted to moan in relief. As she stood with the cloth pressed against her, she considered how cold it was. It was not nearly as bad as she had imagined, and she could see there was no ice left in the water. An idea formed in her mind that she knew would infuriate Ric, but once she had thought it, her body demanded she follow through. She bent over and unlaced her riding boots. She carefully toed them off, her long skirts hiding her feet from Ric, who still stood behind her.

  Once she had her shoes off, she dropped the linen and rolled down her stockings. She glanced back at Ric and the guard before gathering her skirts and hoisting them to her knees and dashing toward the water. She threw the skirts over her shoulder and wrapped them around her as she waded in until she was mid-thigh deep. She lowered herself until she submerged her backside and allowed herself a moan of pleasure.